A word about adding water, the rule of thumb is adding water double the measurement of the rice taken, so if you are using 2 cups of rice...add 4 cups of water....I would suggest you to reduce 1/4 cup of water to be on the safe side....so that that the rice is cooked nicely but not sticky...so, 3 3/4 cups of water is ideal to get nice non sticky rice.

I always like to add vegetables that is available in my refrigerator.....there is no rule here...other than your favorite or available vegetables....and I do not favor potatoes in my biriyani, so with the exemption of that I think I can tolerate all the veggies in my biriyani.

A note on rice, I have seen people soaking rice for 20 min or so before cooking them, but from my experience, I always wash and clean the rice and put them into a strainer or colander....try it...you will understand why I insisted on this :)

Okay, so lets make vegetable biriyani, and yes! its a perfect lunch box meal for kids and adults ....and novice cooks are you listening?

These are the vegetables I took to make this biriyani, you can see the coarsely grinded greens still in the jar and the vegetables excluding the onions and tomatoes are chopped.

Heat a pressure cooker. Add in oil or ghee add in the broken cashew-nuts first and then the raisins....once it is lightly fried....remove them and keep them aside. Fry half onion sliced...and keep aside.

Then add in the cinnamon, cloves, cardamon, and a little bit of jathipathri (mace). Add in the sliced onions ....stir for a few min and reduce flame.

Then add in salt and keep on stirring on low flame...until the onions are lightly browned.

Still on low flame. Add in the coarsely grinded mix.....stir for a few min...add in 1 tsp red chilly powder ( I used Kashmiri chilly powder, if using ordinary, add on 3/4 tsp. Add in 1 tsp of coriander powder, 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder, and 3/4 tsp of garam masala powder. Stir well, so that the raw flavor is diminished....keep the fire on low flame.

Once the masala is nicely mixed and browned...add in the tomatoes...you can add in a tbsp of water to make the tomatoes incorporate, but then its optional. Once the tomatoes are nicely sauted and oil has started to come up...add in the vegetables, and mix it well on low flame...maybe about 2 min, so that it is nicely incorporated.

Put the flame on high....Add 3 3/4 cups of water. Check salt and once the water has boiled...add in the strained rice.....squeeze in half a lime.

Mix everything well, and close the cooker with its lid....once steam starts coming...reduce the flame to the lowest and keep it on for 7 min....after 7 min switch off the fire and open the cooker after 15 to 20 min....ta da...your easy vegetable biriyani is ready....fluff the rice with a fork.....sprinkle on roasted nuts, raisins and fried onions...and lastly garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

hi, i tried this out.. it was delicious.. my family enjoyed it .... i made a small mistake, that i added curd n cashew mix into it which added up little sourness after the incorporation of lemon juice in the end....but it came out nicely and the fault was quite negligible.... next time im gonna make it perfectly...

Hi Saranya, you are such a sweetie! thanks a ton for the amazing feedback!! and so glad that you enjoyed it...a word about curd and cashew mix, it is not a good idea for this biriyani.....it is suitable for dum biriyani or layer biriyani...as it thickens and flavors the gravy :)

wow such an tempting briyani looks so delicous and yummmmm !! lovely pictorials :) First time here and happy to follow you you have a fantastic collection recipes dear and awesome clicks :) Do visit my blog too when you get time , wud be glad if you can follow be back :)Desi Fiesta